<p>I'd appreciate any opinions/suggestions of any big state universities (Ohio State, Penn State, Florida, Arizona ect) that I might be able to gain admittance. I hope to major in mechanical engineering and have the following stats:</p>
<p>Pennsylvania resident - Excellent public high school
3.22 GPA UW (out of 4.0)
SAT M-680 CR-660 W-630
1340/1600
At the end of my junior year I have 1 AP & 3 Honors
Scheduled next year for 3 APs & 3 Honors (including Calculus & Physics)
4 varsity letters (2 football & 2 basketball)
1st chair Piano in jazz & symphony bands
Senior class officer
Moderate ECs
Great recommendations
URM (Hispanic/AA)</p>
<p>Before you get your heart set on an OOS public have you asked your parents how much they can afford? Have you run your parents numbers through an EFC calculator? Few out of state publics meet need even for residents of their own state. </p>
<p>Once you have an estimate of what your parents will pay and what your EFC is it will be easier to make suggestions. Please realize though that even if your EFC is 0 you may not receive enough financial aid to afford a big OOS school.</p>
<p>Thank you for responding “proudwismom”!
My parents EFC is $15K. I have an older sibling currently in college.
My parents can afford $15K per year and my VERY wealthy grandfather has committed to paying the difference (in state or out of state) for any school I can get accepted (and agree to attend).</p>
<p>While I do not want to take advantage of my grandfathers largess, I can afford to attend any OOS public or private college. I prefer the opportunities, sports and facilities that most of the biggest state Us seem to offer. I just need to figure out which ones to apply to and where I’m most likely to get accepted. I have already applied EA to some but would appreciate any suggestions of schools that you or anyone else might think would accept someone with my stats. Thank you again for your help.</p>
<p>Might you qualify for the National Hispanic Recognition Program? If you take/took (not sure what date it is on this year) the PSAT this year and get at least 184 (cut score from last year for mid-Atlantic states) you probably would qualify. There’s a whole thread listing schools offering scholarships for students who qualify for this. I know Arizona State University has a nice scholarship for NHRP students, and a good engineering school.</p>
<p>Edited to say: I’m confused. Are you currently a junior or a senior? I saw your comment about what you plan to take NEXT year, and I assumed you were a junior, albeit one who had taken the SAT pretty early, but in the subsequent post you mention already having applied EA.</p>
<p>In the NE side, try Bucknell and Lehigh. They are both in PA.</p>
<p>At Lehigh, your CR+M puts you at the top 25% range (or very near that range). Lehigh says, they care more about SAT than GPA. (in fact, they list SAT as important, and GPA and class ranking considered). This works to your advantage. Lehigh has an outstanding engineering program. It’s also one of the top 50 schools (37 to be exact according to USNWR). Lehigh lacks diversity, based on what I hear. The upside for your is, the school administration is really trying very hard to increase URM students - you benefit in this regard. </p>
<p>At Bucknell, your stats may be a little below top 25% in terms of SAT. Your GPA is a bit lower than average (BUcknell is a LAC, a very well regarded one again in the field of engineering). I believe they are also working hard to increase their diversity profile.</p>
<p>In your case, the fact that you are URM will definitely help in most schools.</p>
<p>By the way, both schools had ED I, and ED II. You still have time to take another couple of SATs to see if you can increase the score further to compensate for your lowish GPA if you are going for ED II or RD. They consider campus visits to be an important factor. Go visit them.</p>
<p>Thanks again everyone!
1st - I realize that I am VERY fortunate and I appreciate my parents and grandfathers financial support.
I am a senior.
Too late for the National Hispanic Recognition Program…it is based off the PSAT test score which I unfortunately did not take seriously at the time.
I will research Arizona State, Ol’ Miss, LSU, Lehigh and Bucknell. Thanks for the suggestions and if anyone else has any ideas please feel free to contribute.</p>